Is there any more evocative image of the Age of Steam than that of the Flying Scotsman thundering its way along the tracks, a 70-foot iron monster weighing 97 tonnes, belching steam from its funnel like a locomotive dragon? Built in 1923, this year the world’s most famous locomotive celebrates its centenary, and is the subject of the newest set of The Royal Mail’s special stamps.
Now housed at the National Railway Museum in York, the was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley as part of the new A1 class, and built at the Great Northern Railway works at Doncaster in 1923. A1 locomotives were an updated incarnation of steam trains that departed from previous models, having more powerful engines that were required to pull the heavier trains that featured corridor carriages, restaurant cars and on-board
